


Jar of Hearts

by deutschkatze06



Category: Jurassic World Trilogy (Movies)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-04
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-07-06 21:02:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,647
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15894081
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deutschkatze06/pseuds/deutschkatze06
Summary: When Claire's ex-boyfriend gets married to her best friend, all hell breaks loose.....





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So, this is my first Jurassic World fanfiction that I've decided to post (as I love both Claire and Owen's characters so much). It may be slightly OOC, but I'm trying to keep them as in character as possible. Reviews are welcome and appreciated! Xx

Chapter One

 

Dawn shone brightly on Isla Nublar as Claire Dearing, Jurassic World’s Operations Manager, quickly made her way through the twisting hallways to the control room where her assistant was anxiously waiting.

“Ms. Dearing,” she greeted her, handing Claire her mocha latte and a stack of papers she would most likely be needing for the meetings she’d be attending later on that day. 

“Zara,” she replied. “Anything interesting?” 

“There’s an intriguing letter for you somewhere in there---don’t worry. I didn’t read it.”

Claire made her way to her desk, idly thumbing through the mail before freezing. Her hand was poised over a small envelope. She recognized the familiar scrawl on it. Hastily, she tore it open and scanned its contents, her complexion paling. 

Zara watched her with curiosity. What was getting her boss (and friend) so completely rattled? She watched as her friend silently put whatever it was back in the envelope and walked away to a nearby office, shutting the door behind her.

Alone, Claire crumpled to the floor. Tears threatened to fall from her eyes as she fought to regain her composure. It wasn’t as though the letter was a complete shock. Her best friend was getting married. That by itself shouldn’t have been a surprise. People did that, and Meredith was no exception. However, she’d never expected in a million years that Meredith would choose to marry Claire’s ex-boyfriend, Patrick Townsend. 

Patrick Townsend was the model boyfriend. He was kind, loved his family, and showed a general respect for others. That was why, on a wintry day in December (some four years ago now), Claire was in complete shock to find him in bed with Meredith. He didn’t even try to explain himself either (not that she would have bothered giving him a chance). It genuinely surprised her that Meredith, despite everything that transpired before, during, and after the fallout of Patrick cheating on Claire---would have the audacity to invite her to the wedding. The letter was more of a reminder of what had happened than anything. Claire’s lack of response should have been a signifier that she wasn’t going to attend. 

Claire liked having control of everything. From situations she chose to put herself in, her emotions, and the actions of others---she took it all very personally when she didn’t immediately have her way. It was something that Patrick used to relentlessly tease her about. 

Regaining her composure, Claire opened the door of her office. Zara was waiting on the other side with trepidation.

“Are you sure you’re okay? You don’t seem like yourself,” she tried cautiously. 

Claire sighed. Obviously, Zara wasn’t going to give up without some sort of explanation. “My ex boyfriend is getting married. Not only is my presence requested; it’s mandatory.”

Zara blinked in disbelief. “I’m sorry. You lost me somewhere between the fact that you’ve been invited to go and being told you’re going. There’s something you’re not telling me.”

“He’s marrying my best friend from kindergarten.”

“Okay, I’m failing to see why you’re upset. I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

“Well, Patrick and I dated a few years ago. Things between us were fine….or so I thought. Then, one day I came home to find Patrick and Meredith having sex in our bed. I didn’t give either of them time to really explain themselves. I just left and never really spoke to them again. I quit my job as an executive with Patrick’s father’s company, and came here. The rest is history.”

“Wow…and your friend still thinks your relationship is strong enough to where inviting you isn’t that big of a deal? Either she’s really dumb, or she’s super vindictive. When’s her wedding?”

“It’s set for next week. I still don’t know if I’m going. I don’t even have a date.”

Zara pondered for a moment, then responded, “I think you should go. If anything, it will prove that you’re in a better place with all of this.”

Claire’s eyes widened. “But I’m not. I’m far from being okay. I never really wanted to see either of them again.”

Zara chuckled. “I know. But I think it would be good for you. I’ll make the arrangements,” she continued as Claire began to protest, “so you don’t have to.”

Claire frowned. “Are you sure? The last time you attempted to take care of things like this for me, I ended up in a hotel that was in the middle of nowhere, and my luggage got lost. Maybe this time I should do this myself.”

Zara chuckled. “It’ll be fine. I promise. I’ve got this. You’re going to be late for your meeting, by the way. Mr. Grady is coming to talk to you about obtaining more funding for the raptor program he’s working on. He said something about wanting new challenges for his raptors so they can stay focused while he’s working with them.”

Claire closed her eyes in exasperation. Owen Grady, Jurassic World’s premier raptor trainer, had consistently been a thorn in her side from day one. A mutual friend had set her up on a date when he’d first arrived, and he wasn’t what she’d expected. He’d arrived to their date in board shorts, taken them to a shady bar in the middle of nowhere, and ordered drinks for the both of them with way more tequila than she could handle. However, he never tried to touch her or make inappropriate comments, so that was something. He even went so much as to tell her that he fully expected never to hear from her again---which unnerved her. 

Yet, they still worked at the same park, and she was technically his boss. That fact alone served to make things difficult. Their involvement since their failed date had thankfully been limited to board meetings and random run ins when he’d drop off progress reports on his raptors. 

“Can you reschedule? I’m not really open to having a meeting with him right now. I think I’m just going to take a personal day. I’ll be back tomorrow morning---and don’t look so worried. I’ll be fine. I promise. I’ll keep you informed. I guess if I’m going to actually go to this wedding, I need to actually prepare for it.”

“Sure. I’ll also cancel the rest of your meetings for today. You work too hard, you know? You need to take a personal day every now and again.”

Claire smiled. “Thanks for understanding. I’ll see you later.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! Thank you for all feedback on the first chapter....I'm so happy that y'all are liking it (since it's my first time writing a Jurassic World fic (much less involving Claire and Owen). I hope that y'all also enjoy this next chapter and always appreciate feedback!

Chapter Two

Zara spent the rest of her morning making the necessary arrangements for Claire’s departure. By the time noon rolled around, she had already secured plane tickets, a driver and a hotel room. Feeling pretty pleased with herself, she proceeded to pull up the employee database to start looking for a potential escort for Claire. 

Scanning through the list, her expression turned grim as she found the list of single men working on the island severely lacking. She pulled out her cell phone and began making the calls to each man she found with no listed marital relationship, hoping to find at least one who would be willing to take a chance on Claire. 

However, as the hours passed, Zara was becoming frustrated. Before she could even get out the full story to most of the men who answered the phone, her request had either been laughed at, or the man had hung up on her entirely. She knew that convincing someone to escort her boss might be a challenge. Claire had a certain way of intimidating pretty much anyone.

Zara was so engrossed in her task that she failed to notice when Owen Grady burst through the doors of the Control Room. He stopped to watch Zara for a few moments, noting her frustrated expression.

“Hey Zara,” Owen began.

Zara jerked in surprise. She hadn’t been expecting anyone in the office for the rest of the afternoon because Claire had left. She internally berated herself because she had forgotten to inform Owen that his appointment with Claire had been canceled.

“Mr. Grady,” she greeted with indifference. “Miss Dearing is out on a personal errand for the rest of the afternoon, so your appointment has been postponed. I’m sorry I didn’t inform you sooner. She has me working on a side project while she’s away.”

Owen smirked. “Side project, huh? Such as?”

Zara rolled her eyes in annoyance. “She has an appointment that requires some travel set for next week.”

“Business or personal?”

Zara blinked in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“This appointment…is it for business, or personal reasons?”

“I don’t see how it’s any of your business, seeing as you’re only an employee.”

Owen rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. “Come on, Zara. It’s just a question. And who knows? Maybe I can help with whatever’s causing those frown lines on your face. If you’re not careful, those will become permanent.”

Zara chewed on her bottom lip. “I’m having difficulty finding someone to escort Miss Dearing to this appointment. I’ve called everyone I can think of, but every time I get out my request, I either get laughed at or hung up on. I just don’t get it. Is it me?”

Owen chuckled. “No. I think it’s honestly your boss. She can be a little…. intimidating, to put it plainly. She makes men feel pretty stupid. Don’t get me wrong; it’s an awesome skill. She’s just not the kind of person to handle bullshit very well.”

Zara winced at his use of language. “Are you saying that she intimidates you?”

Owen clapped a hand over his mouth in mock surprise. “Did I say that? I didn’t mean to. But in all seriousness, she can be quite the handful. I know she’s got a lot on her mind, and has to make some really tough calls regarding a lot of the operations here. Surely, she knows how to have a little bit of fun. I just wasn’t able to draw it out of her.”

“Like I mentioned earlier, Mr. Grady… I think you unnerve her. She can’t figure out why.”

He shrugged. “I don’t mean to. But if there’s anything I can do for our park’s reigning princess, just let me know. Good luck with the preparations. I don’t honestly know how you do it.”

Zara smiled warily. “It’s highly unlikely that I’ll ever be needing your help, Mr. Grady. However, I’ll take your report and let her know you stopped by for your appointment.”

Owen handed Zara his reports and quickly made an exit, leaving Zara to wonder just what was on Owen’s mind. She surmised that it was probably something to do with his raptors…. but she honestly couldn’t be further from the truth.

When Owen reached the raptor paddock some twenty minutes later, his friend and coworker, Barry, greeted him with a clap on his shoulder. 

“Where the hell have you been? You’ve been gone for three hours! Did your princess require your full attention?” Barry asked, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Owen sighed. “First of all, she’s not mine. Far from it, in fact. Secondly, Blue’s my only girl.”

He moved to the containment area where Blue’s head was clearly visible. When she spotted him, she purred. He reached out and stroked the area between her eyes, watching as Blue melted to his touch. 

“I’m not buying it, man. You were gone for over an hour. In fact, every time you have an appointment with her, you’re consistently gone for a significant period of time. You can’t tell me you’re not affected by her and expect me to believe you.”

“Barry, I don’t know what you want me to say. I’d love to tell you something happened, but she wasn’t even in her office today. She had canceled our meeting for today, and was out of the office. Zara was stressing out about some upcoming appointment Claire has off the island, so I offered to help. I came back when we were done. End of story.”

Barry eyed him suspiciously. “Whatever you say, man. No living, breathing man who doesn’t have a thing for a woman would personally offer to help her assistant make her travel arrangements unless he fully expects her to return the favor in a passionate way….and Claire’s made it perfectly clear she wants nothing to do with you.”

Owen rolled his eyes. “Look, I was just trying to be nice. Claire can be…. quite the handful.”

He felt his phone buzz in his pocket, but ignored it. Whatever it was could wait. 

It wasn’t until almost an hour later when he finally glanced at his phone. He was greeted by ten messages from Zara, who was freaking out.

“Mr. Grady,” one began. “please call as soon as possible.”

The messages got progressively worse. Deciding to finally give her a break, he dialed Zara’s number, and waited. 

“What took you so long? I’ve been trying to get ahold of you for over an hour!”

Owen chuckled. “I’m sorry, Zara. I’ve been busy trying not to get eaten by killer raptors. You understand, I’m sure.”

She sighed. “Look, I’ve exhausted every option, so I’m coming to you. Will you escort Claire to her appointment? You’d be compensated for your time and effort, of course.”

She was greeted with silence on the other end as Owen took time to process her request.

“Are you still there?” she worried, suddenly unsure about the quality of the reception she was getting.

“Yeah. I’m here,” he answered her. “I’m sorry, Zara. I just can’t believe you’re actually asking me to help you with this. Why now? This morning you were so sure you wouldn’t need my help.”

“Circumstances have changed, Mr. Grady,” Zara replied curtly, “and that’s all you really need to know. Also, you’ll need to bring some formal wear with you.”

Owen shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was suddenly feeling like a Claire-induced migraine was coming on. “That’s kind of a tough one, Zara. I don’t own a suit. I kind of don’t need one in my job.”

Zara huffed in exasperation. “Fine. I’ll arrange for you to rent one, and have someone come by for your measurements. But I’ll only do all of that if you’ll agree to take Claire.”

Owen rolled his eyes. “Done. Have them meet me at the raptor paddock. I have too much work to do here to leave.”

“Done,” Zara replied. This was going to either be the worst thing she’d ever done, or the best depending on what Claire’s reaction was going to be.


	3. Chapter 3

Owen was just beginning to wrap up his shift when he heard a car pull up the gravel drive to the raptor paddock. From his stance on the bridge, he was barely able to make out a silver haired man scrambling out of his vehicle and then proceeding to struggle to take various items out of his car. Barry was also watching him curiously, as neither of them were expecting guests, much less those who were loaded down with multiple packages of different sizes. 

“Friend of yours?” Barry asked, cocking his head in the man’s direction.

Owen shook his head in response before adding “No, but I bet we’re about to make a new friend whether we want to or not.”

Barry snorted and rolled his eyes. “Not me. He’s all yours. I’m officially done with everything for today. Hoskins has been driving me absolutely insane lately with his stupid drills he wants each raptor to learn. He’s been getting frustrated with their lack of progress. Charlie and Echo have proven to be extremely difficult, to say the least. Yesterday, Charlie charged at Echo, and had it not been for Blue, Charlie probably would have accidentally killed her. It was all very dramatic and unnecessary, and Hoskins was unimpressed.”

Owen groaned, backing away toward the stairs of the paddock. “All right. Let me go see what this guy wants, then. He could very well be here to give us more tests from InGen for the girls.”

He rapidly descended the stairs, hastily making his way toward his office. He barely noticed the old man before almost colliding with him. 

Straightening his glasses, the old man peered up at him through squinted eyes. “Are you Mr. Grady?”

“That depends on who’s looking for him,” Owen replied haughtily. 

“I’m Brent Sanders. I was sent here to find you. I need to get your measurements for the suit you’re going to be renting for the Townsend wedding next week.”

Owen pulled a face in confusion. “I’m sorry?”

“Yes. I was told you knew about it. Zara Young made the arrangements,” he began cautiously, “but I can clearly see I was mistaken.”

Zara.

It suddenly all made sense...the secrecy, the planning, all of it. Zara’s loyalty to Claire meant taking drastic measures when needed. Clearly, his participation (although unplanned), was needed. However, that didn’t necessarily mean that he wouldn’t total give her shit for it later.

While the silver haired man worked, Owen made small talk with him. He found out that the man’s name was Harry Appleby, and he was from Deltona, Florida. He had been in the menswear business for the last 30 years, and never really dreamed of doing anything else.

“I never thought in a million years that I’d be working with dinosaurs. When I enlisted in the Navy, I thought all I’d be doing was hand to hand combat. I never dreamed that I’d be where I am.”

Brent hummed in agreement, focused on his task of measuring various parts of Owen’s body, taking meticulous notes as he went. 

“Do you know why Claire couldn’t get her own date?” he asked the man. “I mean, I get that she’s busy, but having your assistant get dates for you is a bit much.”

Brent cleared his throat. “I’m not privy to that kind of information, Mr. Grady,” he began. “I also don’t think that’s something you should concern yourself with, either. Ms. Dearing can handle herself quite nicely on her own.” 

Owen sighed. “I know. I guess I was just talking to myself.”

Brent smiled. “That’s a sign of insanity, Mr. Grady. I would be careful with that, if I were you.”

After about an hour, Owen and Brent wrapped up their appointment. Owen helped the old man gather his things and carry them to his car. When all of his materials were safely inside the trunk, Brent turned to Owen with a smile. 

“Mr. Grady,” he began, “It has been a pleasure. Your suit will be ready for you in three days. I’ll be back again with it to make sure it all fits you properly. In the meantime, I would consider speaking with Ms. Dearing about any reservations you have about attending this event with her.”

Owen placed pinched the pressure point on the bridge of his nose in aggravation. “Why does everyone think I have issues with her? I don’t. I’m indifferent. As far as I’m concerned, this will be a vacation for me.”

“Whatever you say,” Brent replied, before turning back to his car. 

After Brent left, Owen pulled out his cell phone from his back pocket. He fully intended to give Zara some choice words about everything he’d just experienced.

“Mr. Grady,” Zara answered drily. “What an unpleasant surprise.” 

“Zara,” Owen began with care, trying to control his temper. “Why the hell would you not tell me that this “appointment” I’m supposed to escort YOUR boss to…is a wedding? Were you literally just expecting me to be okay with getting on a plane, flying God knows where and pretty much making an ass of myself? Was this your idea, or hers? Does she even know? Were you just planning on making us both look like idiots?”

“Good Lord, Grady,” Zara interrupted, exasperated. “She doesn’t know. I just was supposed to find her a date. She wouldn’t know about you escorting her until you showed up. I just needed someone to agree to take her. You knew this. I explained this to you earlier….or were you just not paying attention? I’ll cancel your arrangements since you’re obviously so displeased.”

“No.”

Zara paused. “Excuse me?”

Owen sighed, a Claire induced migraine clearly coming on. “I already agreed to go, went through hell this afternoon with Brent Sanders to get my measurements for a tux…and I’m sure you also went through a lot of trouble to get my hotel and travel arrangements taken care of. Don’t worry. I’ll play nice with Claire. I’ll be the perfect gentleman. She won’t know what to do with herself.”

“Why does it seem like this is going to be a trap?” Zara asked cautiously. “I feel like there’s something you’re not telling me.”

Owen chuckled. “Oh, you’ll owe me something for sure. I’m just not sure yet what that something is, or when I’ll have to cash it in.”

“I’m not sleeping with you, if that’s what you’re after.”

“Wasn’t even thinking about that. Your fiancé would kill me, and I’m not into married or practically married women. I do have some standards, you know.”

“Oh, thank God for that! You had me a little concerned. By the way, your flight is set for four days from now. A driver will be picking you up from the airport as soon as you get there. Please do not be late. The itinerary for your arrangements has already been sent out to your email. You’ll need to print out your plane tickets before you leave.”

“Got it. And Zara?”

“Yes, Mr. Grady?”

“Do me a favor and breathe, will you? Everything is going to be fine.”

With that, Owen hung up the phone. Looking up at the night sky, he wondered what the hell he’d just agreed to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for all the positive feedback on my story so far....I'm trying to get chapters out to you as fast as I can (I'm a college student, so it's challenging) but the feedback really has helped to keep me motivated.


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